2019: Saraki Consults Okowa

The President of the Nigeria Senate, Bukola Saraki (2nd left); Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left); Senator Dino Melaye (right); Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and Other’s, during a courtesy visit on the Governor, in Government House Asaba.

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, Senate President, Bukola Saraki Saturday, August 25, 2018, met with Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa at the Government House, Asaba.

Saraki who addressed the press after the more than 30 minutes closed door meeting, stated, “I spent four years with a very capable and competent colleague (Governor Okowa) in the Senate, we worked very closely together and I have come to spend some time with him and to hear his views now that I have rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

“Governor Okowa is a very important party member, he is someone I truly respect and I have come to listen to him, hear his views and to consult with him,” he said.

He lauded the level of development witnessed in Delta State in the past three years, observing, “there is lot of economic growth for the past three years in the state, a lot of opportunities have been created for Deltans, there is a lot of development in the state and this is what we want to see in most of our states.”

The Senate President who was accompanied by some Senators, including, Senator Dino Melaye and Peter Nwaoboshi also debunked claims that the Senate was yet to reconvene due to fear of his impeachment, stating, “I am not losing any sleep about impeachment, we have a country that a lot of Nigerians believe there must be rule of law, those who are talking about impeachment are engaging in cheap blackmail and I am not concerned about that.”

He also used the brief encounter to throw more light on why he left the All Progressive Congress, saying, “I have made a four page statement on why I left the All Progressive Congress (APC) and I made it very clear that the ideas and visions of what we expected, was not realised in the areas of democracy, justice, etc.”

He continued, “those that followed the political terrain of the last three years can see that the people are not happy, it is not about myself but about Nigerians and about the kind of country we want to build, the kind of democracy we want practiced and the kind of leadership we need, but, we have not been able to achieve any of this under the APC as much as we have tried.